Neck-yoke coupling



(No Model.)

0. H. HEIMLIGH.

NECK YOKE COUPLING.

No. 593,578. Patented Nov. 16,1897.

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responding UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HENRY HEIMLIOH, OF VENICE, OHIO.

NECK-YOKE cou PL ING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,578, dated November16, 1897.

Application filed February 6 1897. Serial No. 622,241. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES HENRY HEIM- LICH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Venice, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Neck-YokeCouplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description ofthe invention, such as will'enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for attachment tovehicles and which are designed to automatically operate to prevent thedetachment of the neck-yoke from the pole or the horse from breakingloose and running away should the doubletree become unhooked or thetugs, the whifiletree, or other parts of the vehicle or harnessbecomebroken or unfastened.

To these ends myinvention comprises certain details of construction andarrangement of parts whereby the above results are attained, as will behereinafter fully described, and specifically defined in the appendedclaim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofthe forward end of the tongue or pole of an ordinary twohorse vehiclewith my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailperspective view of my invention.

Similar reference-numerals represent corparts in both figures of thedrawings.

1 represents the pole or tongue of any ordinary two-horse vehicle, 2 theneck-yoke, and 3 the ring connected to the yoke and which engages thepole or tongue in the usual manner. Upon the under side of the pole ortongue and immediately in advance of the said ring 3 when in its properposition on the pole I secure a screw-eye 4, to which ispivotally'connected a bell-crank catch comprising a finger 5 and anextension 6, arranged at right angles thereto, the purpose of suchextension being to bear against the under side of the pole or tongue toprevent any forward movement of the finger 5 when the latter is in avertical position.

In practice I construct the finger 5 of greater finger 5 rearward andupward as it passes the pivotal point, and the continued movement of thering will bring it beyond the eX- treme free end of the finger 5, whensaid finger by its own weight will instantly fall back to itsperpendicular position, in which position the removal of the ring of theneck-yoke from engagement with the pole or tongue is absolutelyprevented. When it is desired to remove the ring, the finger 5 is raisedagain by hand, so as to allow said ring to pass forward under it. Thusif the traces should become detached or the doubletree, singletree, orany part of the harness become broken or unfastened the finger 5 willhold the neckyoke in its posit-ion upon the pole or tongue by reason ofthe usual hame-tug connections between it and the collar and thusprevent the horse from becoming detached from the vehicle.

So far I have described my invention as ap- 7 5 plied to a two-horsevehicle, the same being clearly shown in Fig. 1, but it will be readilyunderstood that it can be applied to onehorse vehicles with equaladvantage,in which event, however, it will be necessary to arrange oneof the locking-fingers upon eachv shaft, so that should the tracesbecome detached, the whifflet'ree broken, or other parts of the harnessdisconnected the shaft-tugs will be brought into contact with thefingers 5 and thus prevent the horse from passing out from the shafts.

It will be seen from the foregoing that my invention provides in averysimple inexpensive manner a device which will effectually o preventaccidents or runaways resulting from the causes above referred to, andit is obvious that modifications may be made without departingmaterially from the spirit and scope of myinvention, and I reserve theright 5 so to change it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters'Patcut, is-- The combination with a pole-shaft of ave- 10ohicle, of a screw-eye attached to the under portion thereof, and abell-crank catch mounted in said eye and comprising an extension adaptedto engage the under side of the pole and a weighted finger normallygravitating in a Vertical plane, and a neck-yoke having a ring,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES HENRY HEiMLICH.

\Vitnesses CHARLES SHEPHERD, FRED SCHAEFLER.

